[Closed] Whyte 905 or Cotic BFE?

I have a 901. I wont write an essay about it but essentially it's the kind of bike that makes you want to ride it.

Parked up it has a stance that make you want to throw a leg over it. The view from behind the bars is incredibly confidence-inspiring and in motion it's one of those bikes that flatters whether you're mincing along or going for it. If you're familiar with harsh HTs it's not like that at all it feels like a firmly set-up FS

With it being long and low my biggest negative is the low. Even with 170 mm cranks it gets hung up on pedally step-ups that a slightly taller bike would just ride over. Maybe a smaller size (mine is an L) wouldn't get caught up so much

Thanks Rocketman

I would essentially echo Rocketmans comments, but replace the number 901 with the letters BFe!

I absolutely love it, and have recently started running it with 2.6" Maxxis Forekasters which seem great so far.

Although I would say I haven't had any issues with the BB being too low on the BFe, however I do run a 150mm fork which presumably puts it a little higher.

I had a Whyte T129 & Demo'd a T-130 and both struggled with pedal strikes, also I have short legs so i found the standover on them a bit high. Caused a few 'impacts' which i'd rather have avoided. The taller top tube and super-low BB seems common across the whole Whyte range, I'm sure for good reason but it just doesn't quite 'fit' me.

Great bikes other than that though, I don't think you'd go wrong with either. Alternatively a Solaris Max if you want to go 'proper' plus tyres/have the option for 29" although the frame is more expensive i think?

Thanks Facian.

I have a 2018 905. Not being precious at all but the “taller top tube” isn’t something I recognise? I have a 150mm dropper in mine and could fit longer as it’s not all the way into the frame? 6.2/3ish on an XL for reference.

They are quite different? I think the 905 would have longer reach than the BFe but confess haven’t seen the numbers since it went Longshot. No XL on the BFe which would rule it out for me.

I think both are great incidentally. I absolutely love my 905. More fun than the FS I have and the best bike (hardtail or not) that I own. Loving the 2.8’s on it, but obviously can decide to slim down if I ever feel like a 2.6 or so.

i got mine for £1,500 incidentally, so you may get a relative bargain.

Bfe is known as an aggressive jack of all trades, I think for longer trips I’d prefer the Whyte. It just makes me want to ride and is the bike that always summons the most enthusiasm from me. I feel pretty invincible on it and it’s just fun regardless of the trails or speeds you are riding. Perhaps better comparison would be SolarisMAX, but specking one up for c.£1,500 would take some patience.

Current BFe owner here.  I replaced a 130/150 full sussed with it and love it.  I went for a medium, at 5'10, which made it longer than what it replaced but not too long.

It's incredibly confidence inspiring and I have smashed some PBs set on the full sussed with it.  It just wants to hold speed, but at the same time is definitely still maneouverable as it's not super long.  I run mine with a 150mm fork, sagged a little bit more and have had no pedal strike issues on it.

Based on owner comments and reviews, i doubt you would be dissapointed by either.  If you like customing and changing components, perhaps building the BFe makes more sense.  If you want it now, gwt the Whyte.

Thanks Supastu. How do you find the comfort? Ive always felt alloy frames are harsh but im guessing those 2.8 tyres cover that.

2017 901 owner here.  Built it from scratch last summer and added a 140mm Yari.  Bloody love the thing.  Epic VFM (even more so as I sourced most of the bits - mint - ridiculously cheap).  A great point-to-point bike IMO as the balance, handling and grip (with WTB Trail Boss and/or XR4s) are all confidence-inspiring.

Equally fast, aggressive and comfortable on rough/gnarly/swoopy ST as it is on long XC runs.  Composed on the steep stuff, certainly far more than my older gen (less slack) FSers (Stumpys and Enduros).  But not as composed as the Bird AM I demo'd before opting for the 901 (couldn't justify the £2k+ price).

OP - don’t find it harsh at all. Have a Pinnacle Iroko (aluminium) as a winter bike and that is also aluminium and not harsh. Plus tyres helps but to be honest it’s construction - iroko replaced a steel 45650b which was harsher. Not sure how the BFe would be. Think both would be fine with bigger tyres. The first aluminium bikes I had back in the day (90’s) could be really harsh, but most decent ones these days aren’t, unless more XC focussed.

Point to consider is that the Whyte 905 is built around a 130mm fork, BFe takes longer.

Don’t think you’d be disappointed with either. Cotic do demo days so worth asking if they’re near you any time soon? I also managed to get a test of the Whyte as they do demo days, so with their 2019 now hitting shops may be worth seeing if you can try it somewhere?

Thank you all, I really appreciate the feedback.

No idea what the Whyte is like, but my riding mates are sick to death of hearing me go on about how much I love riding my longshot BFe. I genuinely still cannot believe what a fun and comfortable bike it is. Most bikes I've owned (full sus and HTs) after a few hours I start to get a sore back or neck. I get none of that with this bike and it flies on singletrack and most suprising is how well it climbs with such a slack head and seat angle.

Slightly different to you though as I got a second hand frame from here and I swapped most of the bits over from a full sus bike. I've got 150mm forks and a 2.8 minion dhf on the front at the moment as I only had a 27.5+ wheel/tyre to fit my boost forks from the old bike and a 2.4 minion out back. The plus tyre up front is working well at the moment. I don't think a 2.6 would cause any issues in how it feels as it's not going to be that much bigger, would hopefully mean you just have a bit more grip.

Hi,

I have been on a BFe for the last 9 months and am really impressed with it for general trail riding, as well as flying downhill, its really playful and fine for XC and general bimbling and is the best hard tail I have ridden.

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Its set up with 2.6 tyres on 30mm ID rims (Minion front and Minion or Rock Razor rear), I'm a heavy and none too subtle rider and I think that </span>the<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> 2.6's work really well as a all round tyre size (compared with 2.4's on a FS and 3" on my last hardtail) in that they </span>retain<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> most of </span>the<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> grip of the 3" without the squirming when pushed hard. I originally ran 2.4's and have not noticed any loss of the "steel feel" since going 2.6".</span>

I would say that not all 2.6" tyres are 2.6" esp Specialised Butchers which on my rimes were narrower than 2.4 high Rollers...

I chose the BFe due to its ride quality (get a demo!), ability to build to my spec (no SRAM s**te) and great support from Cotic and believe I made the right choice.

Sorry, no idea about the Whyte...

I have a Bfe (26 in, generation before long shot geo). I am 6’2 and the size L is just big enough, but I would have probably got an XL if available... Fancied a change and was using old 26 parts, so wanted a 26 frame and I quite like the BMX type feel.

However, if I was starting again I would seriously consider the Whyte. Heard nothing but good things about them and bigger tyres seem like a great idea. I often run big (2.4) tyres on my bikes, if I can fit them in the frame and it’s not muddy.

Having said all of the above, I love the Cotic and the bike is incredibly confidence inspiring. I am taking it out to the Alps to do some XC alpine style in Verbier and am looking forward to it; I know my riding will only be held back by me, the bike works fine.

Slightly different - I have a Cotic Soul & a Whyte T-130.

I've ridden the Whyte about 3 times since I've got the Cotic... it's just fun. I never feel underbiked & am looking forward to a weekend of chasing people on full sussers at BPW on it.

Definitely try and demo both.

I have a 2017 905 and am m,ore than pleased with it. Even without the largest tyres in the world I dont find it a harsh ride. Only downside, as others have said, is the low bb which can give pedal strike. Have mostly got used to it though and just adapt riding a bit.

@superstu with the taller top tube I'm purely talking from the perspective of someone with short legs compared to my height. I know every brand sizes up differently but the BFe is just super low-slung with loads of standover so it just works better for me 🙂

I've owned/demoed a couple of Whytes and I love the way they ride (and look), I'm just the wrong shape for them unfortunately!